If you remember I was very concerned about what the saniflo toilet was going to look like. I am delighted to be able to say the Saniflo is in, it’s working and it looks absolutely fine. Because of the great idea to put the pipe through the wall and up the other side it is much more discrete than I thought it would be. I could even put a bin next to it and cover the macerator pump entirely if I wanted. The plumber had never seen one of these things before let alone fitted one but he did a great job and it’s working well. Here it is in all its glory

We have not been living in our house for the past week because it just became so uninhabitable but on Friday afternoon we moved back in. We quickly filled the second bedroom downstairs will all our crap that was sitting upstairs and now I’m thrilled to say we have a spacious upstairs with more than a hint of what it will be like when it’s decorated.

On Saturday I had a good old clean and D lit the woodburning oven. It is fully operational now and I even managed to boil water on it for tea in our antique copper kettle. It matches the woodburner well doesn’t it?

The weather has been very warm all weekend so on Saturday we had a barbecue on the roof terrace and on Sunday we spent the afternoon in the garden having a little tidy up. It’s going to take more than a little weeding though to get our garden looking good with the amount of building debris sitting there waiting to be removed. In fact I couldn’t get the phrase “rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic” out of my head as I went about my weeding.

Yesterday was the final official day with the builders although they will be back to fit the sandstone kitchen worksurfaces we’ve ordered. There is still a lot of work to be done around here but I don’t think it’s more than we can handle ourselves. It may take us a while but it should be good fun.

Here’s my seed box. It may not look pretty but it is perfectly organised for my needs.

I was recently going through our seed collection looking for something to plant over winter (when I say recently that could mean anything up to a year ago). I discovered a complete mess with seeds spilling out everywhere. Something had to be done.

Step 1: Choose your Categories

First of all I considered what type of categorization would make my life easier. For example it was tempting to just bung flower seeds in one bag, the vegetable seeds in another and bulbs in a third. That would make it all neater, but it wouldn’t necessarily make me more organised. Finding my seeds for over winter planting would still involve a root around in the vegetable section for example.

Instead I have chosen the following categories:

Vegetables and Herbs – Spring / Summer Planting

Vegetables and Herbs – Autumn / Winter Planting

Flower Seeds – Spring / Summer Planting

Flower Seeds – Autumn / Winter Planting

Specialist Seeds – for example green manure, comfry etc

Sometimes a seed will crop up that can be planted both in the spring and in the autumn so on these occasions I’ll just add it to the autumn bag which is when I like to grow as there’s more rain. This is your call. You can use old envelopes or plastic folders to keep the seeds in that are marked clearly with the category name.

As a very amateur gardener this system works well for me. As (if) I get more experienced and knowledgeable about what I’m doing I may want to further catergorise the seed box. Perhaps the flower seeds would do well being sorted into annuals and perennials? Perhaps they should be sorted by height or even alphabetically? I’m at the stage though where I just want to shove anything that’s likely to grow into the ground rather than choose individual specimens.

Step 2: Label Your Seeds

Seed packets often come with non-labelled inserts that contain the actual seeds. Sometimes these fall out of the outer packet and you are left clueless as to what’s inside them. When you open a new packet of seeds that does contain an insert, write on the insert what is contained within. That way if the outer packet and the insert become separated you’ll be able to reunite them easily.

Step 3: Store Seeds in a Shoebox

While specially designed seed storage holders may be pretty and charming to look at, they are no more practical than a shoebox for storing seeds. If your shoebox is in danger of becoming soaking wet then a metal tin would be better but for the most part any old cardboard box will do. It doesn’t even need a lid particularly.

A word of warning….

For now having spring and autumn catergories is as far as I need to go. At one point I was very tempted to catergorise the seeds according to the exact month they should be planted with individual instructions written out for each but I quickly stopped myself before I went down that long and overly complicated route. You could easily find yourself spending all your time organising and no time actually growing when you overcomplicate the solution!

And Finally……..

Seeds and bulbs have expiry dates so long term storage isn’t an option. If possible, mimise the amount of seeds you have to store by just getting them in the ground as soon as you can.

I mentioned the other day that I had been enjoying a lot of menus del dia recently. While I always appreciated Portuguese food I have recently grown to really love it and want to eat it all the time. Lunch time here in Portugal is a sacred part of the day. While they don’t have long siestas as is common in Spain most shops and businesses do close for at least an hour over lunch. All restaurants offer a lunch time menu del dia which will usually consists of bread / olives, soup, main dish, pudding and coffee for a similar price to a Boots meal deal. There will usually be a meat dish and fish dish to choose from on the menu. I’ve sampled a lot of different dishes so far this year and have the expanding waist line to prove it.

Here are my top ten Portuguese dishes that I want to learn how to cook myself

10 Grilled / Barbecued Sardines

There is nothing like the smell of a sardine gently grilling away on a barbecue in the middle of summer. Barbecues are an extremely popular way of eating in Portugal and if there is no garden or terrace available they will often just barbecue at the front of the houses at the side of the street. It’s so lovely.

(photo credit)

9 Bola de bolacha

There has got to be at least one pudding in this list hasn’t there. I don’t want to offend any Italians but this biscuit cake gives tiramasu a run for its money.

(photo credit)

8 Bacalhau con natas

Cod and cream is a classic combo so this dish is always going to work well. This one is particularly harmful to the waistline but very delicious. Particularly good when chips and salad are on offer as accompaniments.

(photo credit)

7 Espareggado

The truth is I’ve only had this a couple of times, but I absolutely love it. Restaurants may well have it available but I am just not brave enough to ask for it as a side dish. It’s a spinach and garlic dish that is made slightly creamy with the addition of flour and milk. Oh so good.

(photo credit)

6 Panados

When I mean panados I don’t mean the tough as old boots, cold, slabs of meat in breadcrumbs that has been rammed into a roll. I’m talking about the freshly breadcrumbed then fried thin pieces of meat that are juicy, tender and delicious. When panados are fresh they are a real crowd pleaser.

(photo credit)

5 Tosta Mista

Ok so even I could probably already make this but nonetheless it’s got to be on my list. I think it might be the thick pieces of bread they use or perhaps the layer of butter that gets put both inside and out that just make Portuguese ham and cheese toasties just so much nicer than the British and Dutch versions (both of which I am very familiar with.)

(photo credit)

4 Lombo do Porco Assado

Lombo is pork tenderloin and assado means roasted. Basically it’s roast pork. This dish always seems to crop up in restaurants on a Thursday as the prato del dia – I’m sure it’s just a coincidence but it’s strange.

(photo credit)

3 Frango no churrasco

These are available in the larger supermarkets and small take away shacks too. It’s often the prato del dia in restaurants too. It’s even better with a brush or two of piri piri to give it a bit of a kick. We often pick one up for lunch and enjoy with a baguette and salad.

(photo credit)

2 Arroz con feijao

I love, love, love this rice dish. Rice and beans. I think lots of countries have a version of this and I don’t blame them. It’s so good I will always choose it over chips as my accompaniment. It’s usually served with the fish dish as opposed to the meat plate.

(photo credit)

1 Pataniscas

It was in a Fado restaurant in Lisbon that I was introduced to pataniscas. They are like little fried fish cakes, sometimes flat, sometimes ball shaped. They are really delicious and as an added bonus usually come with arroz con feijao.

(photo credit)

Shout out to pastel del natas, porco preto, febras, leitao and bifanas too – I wouldn’t do without any of you.

What about you? Do you have any favourite Portuguese dishes?

This is actually our second home renovation project that we have undertaken abroad (in a country with a different language and culture to the one we are most familiar with). Renovating houses is far from easy at the best of times, throw language and cultural barriers into the mix and things can get even more complicated if you’re not prepared.

I thought would be helpful to provide a list of problems we have encountered during our two renovation projects as well as some solutions for overcoming them. Anyone considering undertaking a similar project will hopefully have at least have some idea of what to expect and how to sidestep any potential problems.

Problem: There is a language barrier

Solution: Fluent Project Manager

We had a rudimentary grasp or Spanish on project one and currently have a rudimentary grasp of Portuguese on project two. You would be surprised at how much can be communicated with hand signals and talking loudly but it’s not ideal, especially when dealing with things as critical as the positioning of your dimmer switches. This time around we asked a friend to oversee the project. He has lived here for twenty years and has worked with the builder before. He makes site visits at least three times a week and is a vital link between us all. A further bonus is he has been able to take us to local workshops and craftsman and help us order the more difficult items like marble worksurfaces and specially crafted pipe for the woodburner. We would never have got this far if it hadn’t been for him.

Problem: Things missing from the Quote

Solution: Prepare a very thorough list of tasks that need doing at the start

While to you “do the floor” might mean everything from laying insulation to tiling it, on the quote it could simply mean preparing the floor for tiling at a later date. Make sure there are no surprises half way through the project by preparing a list of tasks that need doing at the very start. Make sure each task is explained in detail to avoid any ambiguity. This should be used as the basis for the quote and can be translated for the builder by the project manager.

Problem: Your unusual style puzzles the builder!

Solution: Provide Pictures or Examples of what you want

As an example, Belfast sinks are not traditional in Spain or Portugal but they are the only type of kitchen sink I am prepared to have. There’s been a lot of head scratching so we’ve provided a whole load of pictures and drawings to show the builder how the sink unit needs to be built in order to accommodate it. If you too want something very specific included in your renovation you have to be able to explain exactly what needs to be done and provide plenty of pictures and examples of the finished result. You are unlikely to prevent them from thinking your barking mad with your choices but they will at least understand what’s involved.

Problem: You’ve blinked and missed something vital

Solution: Have everything ready before the project begins

You wouldn’t believe the speed at which builders in Spain and Portugal work. It really is quite incredible. The downside is you can find yourself being rushed when it comes to choosing tiles or deciding on layouts. The only way to avoid this is simply to be prepared. You want to have an exact plan of what you want and where you want it before the building work starts. Include room layout, position of light switches and sockets and everything else you can think of. Have everything ordered and ready to go before the project even starts. We blinked and realised we hadn’t asked for some vital light sockets to be fitted and were late on ordering certain items that produced delays.

Problem: Something needs changing

Solution: Be brave and ask for it to be redone

It is impossible to know exactly how something will look and sometimes a decision you’ve made turns out to be wrong. Yes you may get a few frustrated noises but it’s always better to just ask if it can be changed. You may even have to pay a little bit extra but it’ll be worth it in the long run. We let a whole list of things go on our first project “just to keep things simple” which then just bugged us the rest of the time we were living there.

Problem: You are trying to live there while the building work is going on

Solution: Don’t

Our experiences of building / renovating abroad have been very positive and would happily recommend it to anyone keen on giving it a try. Being prepared and having a project manager who is completely fluent are definitely the keys to a stress free experience.

Has anyone else got any tips on how to avoid getting an ulcer through the building / renovating process either at home or in a foreign country?

I cannot bring myself to take any pictures and show publicly what our house looks like right now so i’ve given you one of the view instead. Yes I’m excited about the results and yes the builders continue to do an excellent job but the state of the house right now, or more specifically our living quarters within it are just too awful to reveal. We are now in the throws of the next stage of the building project, which I think will be the last (for now). This is the part where the kitchen gets completed and the main room has its interior walls removed and is taken back to its original vaulted ceilinged, stone walled, wooden beamed space that we’ll be using as a sitting room / dining room.

So far the kitchen has been gutted, the interior walls in the main room have come down and the large back wall has been rendered nicely so hopefully bits will stop falling off it. We’ve bought the saniflo loo finally – in the end we bought from a nearby shop for the same price we would have got it on ebay and I am no longer too worried about how it will look. The box itself is quite small and the pipe is now going to be hidden from view instead of running up the wall on full display. The bathroom will be fully functioning in the next few days which will make living there a lot easier.

I think this weekend needs to involve a big clear out because one of the final tasks of this project is replacing the wooden floor in the main room which I have already fallen through once. This means us and our stuff need to disappear somewhere next week for a few days. If it wasn’t so cold I’d happily pitch a tent in the garden.

Aside from the general discomfort the one thing I am hating most about this is not being able to cook or prepare food for myself. All my healthy eating habits have gone straight out the window and I’ve got lists of recipes building up in my head that I can’t try. One good thing though is that I’ve enjoyed loads of Portuguese “menu del dia” while the work has been going on. As it’s cheese and ham rolls most evenings we do indulge ourselves at lunch time. My most favourite dishes are Pataniscas with arroz con feijao and lombo do porco assado with chips, rice and salad. In fact any roasted or barbecued meats go down well as do any fried fish dishes. I’m quite keen on bacalhau con natas too come to think of it. At the moment I can’t get enough Portuguese food – Separate post needed for this I think. When I get back into my kitchen I’m going to recreate, recreate, recreate. (Apologies for any dodgy Portuguese spelling there!)

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy your warm, non-draughty, completed houses!

Meet our little dog, Jenny.

She is a Spanish dog that we met one day when she trotted past our front door when we were living there. She followed us around for the day which was so cute that we just had to take her in. As no angry Spaniard came knocking on our door we’re pretty sure she was abandoned, but we suspect it may have only been for about 20 minutes as she was in excellent health and (still is) very playful with everyone she meets. No deep psychological scars there then.

Yearly Rabies Jab

There are one or two rules that are meant to be adhered to when it comes to dog ownership in Portugal. The first rule is pretty standard; the dog must receive a rabies jab every year. I took Jenny last week missing the year deadline by months. The vet said that the GNR can request to see proof of an up to date rabies vaccination and if you can’t provide it they can fine you. She told me not to worry seeing as I’d got away with it.
As I’d lost the previous little book she gave me with Jenny’s info and vaccination history she kindly gave me another. I’ve also misplaced Jenny’s Spanish passport and was told this could be replaced instantly with a Portuguese version for 10 euros. I didn’t bother as I’m eternally hopeful that I’ll find it when I get to unpack our stuff post-builders. The rabies jab cost 10 euros and Jenny got her nails clipped and received a general health check at the same time.

Registration with the Junta

The second rule is that the dog must be registered at the local Junta (sort of local council found in every village / town) so they can note down the identification number on her chip. It’s very easy to register the dog. I just took along her new little book, handed it over and was told to come back in a few days. In the meantime the President would sign something and presumably the ID number on her chip would be put into a computer.

You must visit the local Junta to your house. Initially I tried to do mine in the town where the Vet is located (on her guidance) and the officious member of staff got half way through and told me I was doing it in the wrong place. Don’t you just hate having to uncross something off the list.

So that’s it. Pretty straightforward stuff. Now you know how to register your dog in Portugal!

The olives that I lovingly picked then made slits in and cared for over the course of a week look like Botulism central. There is no way I am eating those. They look horrible.

I have been looking forward to marinating my olives for months so refuse to let this little hiccup stand in my way. Enter shop bought brine soaked olives.

It made sense to do a citrus marinade as I have been looking for a good way to use my solitary lemon and there are plenty of almost ripe oranges in the garden. The other one I wanted to do was a garlic and chilli marinade just because yum.

To marinade olives you just add a few into a sealable bag and add in the ingredients you want. You need to start with a good helping of olive oil but otherwise just do what you like. Herbs work very well especially rosemary and thyme, garlic is good, chilli flakes, citrus juice and peel – just bung anything in and experiment.

Leave to marinate overnight in the fridge giving the bag a jiggle every now and again. The oil solidified when I did mine but just 30 minutes at room temperature and the oil returned to its normal state.

Here are some I made earlier:

I’m pretty pleased with these they taste good.

Last night I made a pie, a chicken, leek and mushroom pie. It was very delicious but as always happens I was left with a load of pastry trimmings. Seeing as I’d so carefully unwrapped and unravelled the pastry I wasn’t going to let these bits go to waste so I put them carefully back in the fridge. Oh how glad I am I did. I have just made what I am going to call “Cinnamon Shapes”. They are delicious but not nutritious like all the best food.

Cinnamon Shapes

To make them just brush melted butter onto your weird pieces of pastry then sprinkle a generous helping of brown sugar and cinnamon. Put them in the oven for a few minutes turning once.

Freeze the Leftovers

If you prefer to keep hold of you bits of pastry until you have enough to make a whole new pie you can put them in a bag and into the freezer. Every time you have some more leftover pastry you can add it to the bag. That is just too tedious though especially when you could be making cinnamon shapes instead.

There are actually loads of ways you can use up little pieces of pastry. I found some great ideas on  Sudden Lunch. Some of my favourite are:

Turnovers

Roll out the pastry and cut into circles. Add a teaspoon of something tasty in the middle such as marmalade, jam or dried fruit. Brush the edges with beaten egg or milk and then fold the circle in half. Make sure the filling is completely enclosed (if any escapes you may have overfilled it) and ensure the edges are tightly pressed together. Place on a greased baking tray, brush with more beaten egg or milk, sprinkle on some sugar and use a knife to pierce each one to allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake in a medium oven and until golden brown.

Palmiers

This sounds fancy but really it’s not. Just roll out the pastry and a single rectangle. Scatter something very yummy over the top which can be sweet or savoury. Cheese and tomato, ham and cheese, dried fruit and sugar….whatever you want or have to hand will work. Brush beaten egg or milk over the far edge and start to the roll the rectangle towards it. It will look like a roulade once you’ve done this. You can either slice it there and then into pin wheels and bake, or you can place it whole on a greased baking tray and bake. It will need beaten egg or milk brushed over it as with the turnovers and a sprinkling of sugar is worthwhile too

Savoury Tarts

Roll out the pastry and cut into either circles or squares. Put them on a greased baking tray and add a lovely topping. Tomato and basil, goats cheese and pear, cheddar and chilli would all be divine. Bake until the cheese is bubbling.

Tart Tatins

These are upside down tarts so you just add the filling to the tray first then lay the pastry over the top. Use a small muffin tray to make these adding the apples / jam / marmalade / sun dried tomatoes / roasted onion into the muffin holes first. Bake until crisp and golden then dig in once cool enough.

Savoury Bites

Roll out the pastry and spread with a savoury topping. Marmite would work as would anchovy paste or some other kind or savoury relish. Fold the pastry and roll it again so it is once again thin but the filling is enclosed. Cut into small squares or rectangles and bake on a greased tray until crisp and golden.

You could also make cheese straws or you could just bake the pastry all on its own and use as a crunchy topping for salads or in soups.

Now there is no reason to throw away your small weird, leftover bits of pastry again.

How can it be that the satsuma and orange trees are teeming with fruit yet the lemon tree has just one solitary fruit

I think it would be fair to say it’s a disappointing crop!  Perhaps a good prune will sort it out.

We are renovating what were a couple of rooms for animals into two bedrooms and bathroom. Although of course this is a wonderful idea it does come with one problem – the loo is lower than the tank it needs to be connected to. As water cannot travel up hill we have had to turn to Saniflo to come to our aid. For those who don’t know about Saniflo they make electric loos with macerator pumps that enable loos to be put where loos are not designed to be put. Trying not to be crude, a macerator pump churns “things” up and then pumps it all uphill. That makes them good for basements and rooms below ground and all the other impractical places that people insist on turning into bathrooms.

Getting hold of one isn’t that difficult. We can buy them in a nearby (ish) town or there are loads for sale on ebay. It would be good to get one on ebay because they are a lot cheaper but it’s always tricky trying to find a supplier to post internationally. I do worry though that if it goes wrong we won’t be able to just take it back to the shop if we’ve bought on ebay.

Anyway, what’s more of a worry to me is how the blasted thing is going to look. The macerator pump is a white plastic box that sits behind the loo. If being fitted with a standard loo (as we will be doing) the loo is going to be pushed out from the wall. Maybe the cistern will be too although I guess we could buy one that fits to the wall and attaches via a curved pipe? Even still it’s going to look a bit strange. Then there’s the pipe that is going to emerge from the Saniflo, run up the wall and disappear through it to connect with the main pipe the other side. Any suggestions how that could be disguised?

I’ve tried to find pictures on the web that people have kindly taken of their own Saniflo installations but can’t find any. All I can find are promotional shots that all include special loos that accommodate the box with ease. That’s great but what I want to see are the Saniflos that stick out like a sore thumb and have pipes running up the wall but have been cunningly disguised as something beautiful and stylish.

People must think we don’t want to see their Saniflos, well I do dammit. If anyone has any pictures they can show me of their own Saniflos and what they look like please attach in the comments. Alternatively, if anyone has just a bright idea on how to make this thing look lovely I’m happy to hear from you too. In the meantime I’m off to cajole more ebayers into posting internationally.